Game apparatus



sept. 21, 1943.. I

` Filed Sept. 19, 1941 o. F. wHhTLE GAME APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 @Mara/m www5 Sept. 2l, 1943. o. F. wHlT''LE l 2,329,963

GAME APPARATUS Filed Sept. 19, 1941 'sheetS-Sheet 2 Sept. 21, 1943. o. F. WHITTLE '2,329,963

GAME APPARATUS Filed Sept. 19', 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 'anything nhenellt in Patented sept. 21, 1943 A vz azjaata y Gam APPARATUS, or'viliel -F."whitt1e, Miami, 1th to neto:

v Florida Appnfcatimseptembe 19, 1941, ,semina `4111.581y e `lgeminis. ,wrang-aryl The. apparatus of the present linvention 4is known; 4sthe iCourtofzslsings.y :It involvessome of the features-employed n'abillia'rds, such, :for exampleas elastic cushions 'and some vof the features employed in" bowling, butz'it diiers radically/from :either of ythese `well-lrnown sports because t looks ,to rthe :employment jof poweruneans for propelling relatively heavy ballsjf'such V.as n

standard bowling ballsfor even heavier balls, .over

courts irnateria'lly :longer than r the 'conventionalvr bowling alleys. `'llt iisL possible :to do this yin rny invention, because the action of the ballis not limited by lthe. 'strength nf. Ythe player. vtllpon the mllfry; the-@layer iexpends :his energy and -vslcill in the 4,art :ofroontrolling the `power `stored in the ball powerfmeans l:suchy as an electric motor.y

Thll, :the ball `ris zcapable -oilfmuchtgreatertand speediertravel tha-11 :could :be NSecured from man# ual power lalnne.,v This makesit possible tocause the -ballto looactr'with t-he cushions, hazard pins, eta, through elongated path 'much ingexcess of the length attua-vel imparted to ordinary manu; allypropelled bowlingballsf l .Because ofv the great :length .and the high speed of travel of balls as large 'as :erevenlargerV than .standard bowling balls, and the novel `manner of .,Coacton with interposed hazards,- elastic cushionsand the like, the game which may be played with .thisapparatus is 7rend-ered highlyfinterest-ng and greatly .exceeds in its; possibilities convention bowling apparatus. v

soA

Further objects andadvantages ofthe inven`` tion will be set forth in ythe --detailed description which follows. Y v v f In the accompanying drawings:

. Fig. 1 isaside .elevation .of a court :constructed in accordance withthe invention; l I

Rig. `2 is `a longitudinal, .sectional vview through the ,players endof ther-court; i Fig. 3 is` ,a detail, vert-ical, sectional view through themountng of oneoi thefhazard pins; Fig. .4 .isa plan view ,of .the players end ofthe courts; Y

nig. 51s a' .plan Viewv or the .rear mettre courts; l

. Fig. 6 isan enlarged, ,transiterse,vertcal, sec;

tional view throughthe two courts, upon m en. larged scale, and; y

n Fig. 17 is Van enlarged, transverse, ysectional View.A througha par-t of theplayervs end of the court, illustrating the loading apparatus and power bowling machine, hereinafter described;

,fnv establishing theCourt of Kingsfprovision may be-made fares. new. units. as; may te'. le`

siredQx-Irl the ,particular tormillustrated, two

unitsiorrconrtsare shown, .arranged side ,byisida Each .courtis approximately 90 feet inV length and 'comprises .any fsuitab'le surface.v

" inflig. 16 Ihave illustrated "theseslufraces as beingfbuilt 11p" of ssuitable masonrybloclsts "5 `supportedl iupon Aa 'preferably viron bench plate '6; This bench'iplate is;l in turn, :supported upon a flat and truemetallliciplate il; yThe"blocks `5 may balls strike, `the 'usualway The "pit is `also floured -with'a conventional rubber mat '122. A

yoon-ventionalpin-fspottingdevice 13, may be employedtospot thefpins-M; l

Byreterring to Fign, itwill `be seen vthat thev sides I4 of tliazcourts `npstand ,above `the floors Bjand .carry elongated vrlsibber banking Ecushions 15 and elongated fluorescent tubes i6, .said Atujoes being housed andV protected by shade strips ll.-

These r-iyiuorescent tubes ,-not only light thewc'ourts Substantially @throughout their length, but'izthey greatly `add -fto -theattractiue appearance :of the courts as whol-e. `They maybe made to yield A soit, zcolored lights invaryngcombinations, `and The cushthe resultant 'effect is Very pleasingr ions I5 project far `enough beyond 'the shades fll so that lthe balls y418 will contact the cushions Without touching thelshades; f

.A space, i9 between the courts constitutes a re turn through which the 'balls may pass from the pit v,at the pin end of the court to an auv tomatic loading device at the players end of the court. ,A .strip of wood lcarryng strips of rubber 2 ;I;:constitrrtesya track for the balls in the bottom of` the runway "and the :runway may fbe coueled by@ `sheet 22 YVof plywood or any other l suitable material.

"When-f the bailswhave been played and are picked, lbythe, attendant, Aout .of the pit', 'they are placed rupon runway 23,' the tracks .of which align:wthfaniifconstitnte extensions of the tracks l thelrunwayglt.

At the iplayers tend of the .,court,I the returned 5,5f balls pass .arst ,over a retardng hump .24, then pelling means employed in conjunction withthese courts is immaterial.

I may use power machines like those shown in my copending application 319,123, led February 15, 1940, Method of and apparatus for propelling bowling balls, or application Serial No. 323,619, led March 12, 1940, allowed April 16, 1941, and I may use a loading apparatus conforming in principle to the loading apparatus disclosed in application Serial No. 379,315, filed Feb. 17, 1941, Automatic loader forpower bowling machines.

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated av power, ball rotating, machine 21 adaptedto receive any one of the' balls `I8 between the supporting'rollers 23 and a power roller` 29 driven by an' electricor other motor;thehousing`of which isindicated at 30. As in the apparatus of application,` Serial No. 379,315, a ball may be discharged laterallyV from the loading rack 2B in Fig. 7 by the act of advancing the loading machine toward the loading rack. In this movement, the nose 32 of the power machine or unit contacts an ear 33 upon the underside of an arcuate pan 34 to tip said pan against the action of its spring 35 and thereby cause the contained ball to be rolled over into the power bowling machine.

The apparatus of the present invention differs slightly from the apparatus of Serial No. 379,315 in that eachalternate pan 34 is adapted to tip in an opposite direction so that a power bowling machine for one of the courts of Fig. '4 may be loaded from one side of the loading rack, while a corresponding power bowlingmachine for use upon the other court may be loaded fromV the opposite side of the loading rack.V

Ornamental posts 36 are located at the players end of the courts and carry the4 ornamental lamps 3l upon their tops. In addition these posts serve to support a transverse conduit 38 carrying electric wires, not shown, to supply current to said lamps and to the power bowling machine, it being understood that said machines are provided with flexible electric cords such as are commonly used in conjunction `with vacuum cleaners and like portable power devices.r

A king hazard pin 39 is disposed centrally of each court and is supported by a suitable ornamental framework 43. An ornamental light 4| is supported by the frame 4!) and may have the design` of a crown in order to carry out the "court of kings motif. In like manner, joker hazard pins 42 are disposed upon opposite sides of the respective courts at a point preferably in advance of the king hazard pins, being supported upon frames 43 and having associated therewith ornamental lights 44 surmounted by some suitable ornamental design, such as a Greek cross, 45.

The frames 4Q and 43 serve as conduits in which the necessary wiring for lights `4|.or 44 may be concealed. Annular abutments limit the upward swinging movement of the hazardupins,` these abutments being; similar to those commonly employed to limit theupwardswingingV movement of punching bags. Theycomprise the rims 46a and spokes 41 and are supported from the frames 40 and 43.

The hazard pins comprise a wood core 50 hav- :lng a central opening 5| for the reception of weights 52. `The wood cores 5D are covered with a thick band of rubber' 54, and this rubber is, in turn, covered with a heavy felt cloth 55. The weights 52 provide means for. loading the pins so that their weights will be exactly the same.

'I'he hazard pins and weights are traversed vertically by and supported by rods 60 having eyes 6| at their upper ends. These eyes are en- A gaged by the lower. ends of springs 62 hung upon transverse pins L3 movable in slots 64 (only one of which is shown), of pipes 65, said pipes being carried by and depending from frame 4U or 43 as the case may be. 'Ihe transverse pins may be vertically adjusted to increase or decrease the tension of the springs E2 by nuts 66 threaded for vertical 'adjustment upon the outside ofthe pipes. .Safety connections 66a extend between the pins 53 and the eyes 6I, These may consist of any suitable flexible members such las chaine covered with rubber tubes, and their function is to permit swingingmovement of the pins but to keep said pins from flying outwardly if the springs should break. Caps 61 are fastened to the upper ends of the hazard pins and their upper edges engage in recessed portions B8 of heav? metal rings 'xedupon the lower ends of the lpipes 65.

vWhen the pins are struck by a ball and swung from the vertical, the caps 61 rock upon the rings 59 and the eyes 6| move downwardlypputting the springs under tension. The springs serve trl quickly return the hazard pins to the vertical` and to'prevent excessive swinging of said pins'.

If desired, I may arrange electric circuits so that the lights 4I, 44 will be 'lighted or additionally lighted by the striking of-'the hazard pins. Many ways may be resorted to to accomplish this result, as for example by disposing contacts c in i position to be bridged by the eyes` 5|; when Vthey 4 herein shown and described.

move downwardly. A

It is to be understood thatv the accompanying drawings are intended to be illustrative only of the principles employed. It is clear that many ways will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art of modifying the apparatus in respect tofeatures widely divergent from those Consequently, I wish it to be understood that the invention includes within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claimvis:

1. In a court ofA the character described, an elongated runway, elastic banking cushions extending along the sides of the court in position to be engaged by a bowling ball upon said runway; a pair of joker hazard pins of relatively small diameter suspended for swinging movement at a height to be contacted by the bowling balls and disposed upon opposite sides of the centerline of the court, a king hazardpin of considerably larger diameter suspendedat the centerlline 'of the court and mounted for swinging movement ing balls in motion, of a hazard pinv suspended' for swinging movement above said court, said hazard pin comprising a Weighted core, a fabric l covering and a supporting stem, a spring means engaging said stem and supporting said pin and tending to return the same to vertical position, an annular rim above said pin which limits the upward swinging movementof the pin, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring means.

3. In game apparatus of the character described, an elongated court comprising a relatively flat runway and upstanding sides dimensioned to constitute a trackway for a bowling ball, an elastic cushion extending along each of said sides, substantially throughout the length of the runway, the far end of the court comprising a surface arranged to receive and support a group of free pins of thev conventional ten-pin type and the opposite end of the court constituting a hazard pins being suspended above the runway with their lower ends spaced therefrom, said pins being mounted to swing in any direction, springs tending to maintain said pins in a vertical position, means forV adjusting the tension of said springs to determine thevdegree of deflection v, imparted to the ball by contact with said pins,

and means for limitingv the upward swing of the pinsgat all points in their possible travel.

ORVILLE F. WHITTLE. 

